Monday, September 26, 2011

The day the new Interweave Knits "Knitting Traditions" Fall 2011 came available, Interweave sent me a notice. They are well aware that I will spend my last penny to purchase these magazines. I spent two hours just "thumbing" through the digital edition--ya I couldn't wait for it to come in the mail, takes too long. On page 78 were these rustic, nothing fancy, but certainly functional looking socks called "Gobi Desert Socks". They looked all fluffy and warm--and you know how I feel about all things "fluffy". Made from handspun camel wool spun by nomadic herding women and their families of Mongolia. I found myself rushing off to find the Snow Leopard Trust that sells this luscious stuff and uses the proceeds to benefit snow leopard conservation and supports these people.﻿

And look what they did!! They sent my order right out! Seriously, from magazine view to my mailbox took only 4 days and that included the weekend!! The yarn is now safely nestled all snuggly in my lap where I can pet it often. Don't know if I'll ever find something worthy to knit out of it lol. It's amazing, lovely, and all for a good cause.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

I hope she doesn't mind....my cyber friend Barb is awesome! She and I have been taking care of a couple of knitting blogs the past few years and I feel like I have got to know her a little bit. Even though I have never seen her face I really like her.

Barb lives somewhere on the east coast. She was affected by the hurricane that hit there just a while back. Just as the power got turned on and she was headed back to work she got really sick. I was concerned and had emailed her that I hoped she would be well soon. Her response was that she was starting to feel better then she said, "I can still knit though and that is all that counts." I teared up. Ya, I know, silly. But really sometimes you need something to get you through all the hard times.

Everybody has their "security blankets" their "means of escape". Some turn to substance abuse, some get depressed and hide, some become work-a-holics, some just give up. But Knitter's....we knit. We get out the yarn, sometimes we get a pattern, and we grab our needles and we "escape" by turning to something familiar, something comforting, something soft :) and pleasant. For me I almost always am knitting for someone else. I get caught up in thoughts and memories of them. Times shared together and hopefully future times together. I think about them wearing what I am making and how it will look. I loose myself completely. Soon I've forgotten all the sadness, the problems, the difficulties, etc. I make positive thoughts my focus, twisting and looping and combining my thoughts of happiness and good times with every stitch. It is such a healing process.

So Barb, here's to you :) I agree. With all that I have been through in the past couple years, I am "starting to feel better" also. Thank goodness "I can still knit though" and to me "that is all that counts".

You appear to be a Knitting Guru. You love knitting and do it all the time. While finishing a piece is the plan, you still love the process, and can't imagine a day going by without giving some time to your yarn. Packing for vacation involves leaving ample space for the stash and supplies. It can be hard to tell where the yarn ends and you begin.http://marniemaclean.comTake this quiz!